International Football History and Statistics

On this day in football history

• 1953 Death of Bob Iverson, former Aston Villa half-back, at the age of just 41. He joined Tottenham Hotspur in 1932 but soon left to join Lincoln City where he made his League debut in 1934. Moved to Wolverhampton Wanderers early in 1935 and Villa in December 1936. For years he had the distinction of scoring the quickest goal in League football timed at 9.4 seconds against Charlton Athletic in December 1938. He played his last League match in 1948 which brought his peacetime tally to 210 and 29 goals.
• 1954 Scotland met Uruguay for the first time during the World Cup Finals in Switzerland. They were trounced 7-0 in Zurich.
• 1958 Wales played their first ever match against Brazil in the quarter-finals of the World Cup in Sweden. They performed creditably in Gothenburg but lost 1-0. Brazil's goal was scored by a young man called Pele who was making his international debut.
• 2000 Crystal Palace's Australian international midfielder scored four goals as his side trounced the Cook Islands by a record 17-0. The scoreline bettered the 16-0 thrashing handed out by Australia in the 1998 Oceania Nations Cup against the same opposition. They also beat the Cook Islands 13-0 in a World Cup qualifier in Sydney in 1977.